Brodie

Not sure why over the years the NZ Trotting Cup wasnt changed to what the gait actually is? Pedantic you might say, but from my point of view the starters in the race tend to be pacing rather than Trotting! Has it ever been mooted that it should be changed?

Going by the UDR, I would say that young Carter Dalgety is the best Junior driver we have ever had! His stats as a junior are far better than what Blair Orange’s was as a Junior! Not sure but Dexter may not have been a Junior driver in NZ but if he was his UDR wouldnt have been as impressive as Carter I am pretty sure. Carter comes across as a very level headed young bloke and has always been very good when he has been interviewed. I appreciate that he is getting some pretty good drives from a top stable but I am prepared to state that he is going to be one of our very best drivers for a long time and a top trainer should he choose this route as well! His drives this year and last have his UDR both over .3000 which is very impressive. This year he has been in the first 3 in nearly 50% of his drives.

Pleased you are finding value! Punters invest differently and what is being offered at most meetings is not suiting me at the moment, so I am just not bothering. Not a problem as it doesnt affect my lifestyle but enjoy the challenge. Wouldnt worry the TAB either so everyone is happy. Ashburton Sunday racing mainly over 1700m is another wasted space, and wont be investing watching live. Good luck to those having a go!

You are correct re the cold during Winter at Addington, far easier watching Trackside in the warmth of your lounge. Trackside is one of the reasons track attendance is just so poor now. Another is the treatment of certain punters by the betting agency doesnt make it worthwhile to attend as they are scrutinised too easily.

Yes no deductions is a bonus as well from the NZ TAB, so yes they are trying things to help get punters to invest! While they restrict certain punters to pathetic amounts and have a $1k ANTI MONEY LAUNDERING LIMIT then the turnover sill be stifled. The Bookies really need to grow some as they are not very brave.

Well done to the NZ TAB on bringing back the “HEAD TO HEAD” for harness after a long absence. Be very interesting to see how long they last for? TAB how about giving us the Option No. ??????

Looking thru the odds for Friday night, second week in a row and nothing I can see worth investing on!! Bookies you need to “grow some” and bring out the “Poser Plays” far earlier and advise the punters to get on and allow punters on for a fair amount and not your pathetic amounts! I am giving you the “heads up”, you continue to operate the way you are on harness racing punters, and you have killed it!! Personally do not think you really care, as long as you are getting paid for getting a good yield rather than increasing turnover that will increase your profit!

The NZ Cup is nothing at all like it used to be, despite being hyped up by Trackside. It is very sad that harness now allows 6 win horses into the NZ due to not enough competitive horses around and some of us are aware why this has happened. The current handicapping system has been tried but can we honestly say that it is working? Yes it has been great for many horses but on the whole it doesnt work as there is too much gap between the classes on raceday! Until it is sorted and stake money increases there will be a continuation of horses overseas in big numbers! Friday night’s fields shows this and it will be interesting to see how many horses start showing up now that we are into Spring?

Only eight races to be run on Friday night. Unfortunately 4 of the 8 have only 7 starters which is indeed very poor. Punters won’t bother too much although the owners of the starters have a pretty good chance of getting stake money. The industry is not in a very healthy situation currently and things need to change or things are going to get to a dire situation. There are not any new punters or owners coming thru in good enough numbers to make things viable!

Not a great sign for the future down there unfortunately but Southlanders are resilient! Problem down there is that they used to have so many more amateur trainers and this is probably declining in numbers? The increased costs to an owner to race a horse nowadays just not make it financially viable for people so individual ownership is getting hit. Unless the stake money increases significantly it is going to get harder to attract any new owners unless it is in syndicates. Years ago stablehands worked long long hours for low wages. Nowadays I am sure the wages bill has increased significantly so this has to be passed on to the owners, and this cost has not been seen in any increased stake money. Difficult times ahead for many juggling the finances with all of lifes increased costs. NZ TAB are not assisting harness racing by their draconian restrictions by way of restricting punters to pathetic amounts and the $1k ANTI -MONEY LAUNDERING BS!!!!!

You are correct he didnt cover any extra ground by being on the fence, but he did lose ground at the start from his gallop,@# he was 3rd last early on! Yes he did go very well at the trials the previous week as did Sporty Charlie. It doesnt really worry me too much as I dont invest on tight class racing

One of the nicest guys in harness racing in Canterbury, Colin DeFilippi had one of his best nkghts at Addington for a long time. Colin used to be one of our best drivers for a very long time but has been quieter than he once was with drives and horses at the races. He is probably under utilised nowadays but then that may be by choice? Anyway a great effort tonight to produce Heza Sport and Sporty Charlie to win first up against good opposition. They both went good at the trials last week and performed great tonight. A long stalwart of harness racing and deserves all the success he gets!

Surely this shows that our tighter assessed horses are the weakest they have ever been ? Heza Sport a good promising horse but you would not have thought that it could gallop away, and first up still beat those other ones gunning for a cup start automatically! Good runs by the Geoff Dunn runners but seriously we seem to be lacking the class horses we were used to! Think I still prefer the loose class racing, far easier to pick!

Depends on the race Ranga. With the odds so pathetic at the moment not worth much effort at the mo. So Power Plays may be the way to get reasonable collects otherwise I will stay on the sideline!

Is anyone getting decent amounts on PowerPlays or are they restricting you to low amounts?

Yes it is a very even field and impossible to predict the winner. Tonights fields are possibly the most unattractive for punting on for quite awhile. Good luck if you are having a go. NZ TAB bring out the power plays earlier and let punters on for good amounts.

Just looked at the fixed odds for Addington Friday night and seriously not a single gorse worth investing on the way that I invest! Small field, small odds, going to be a non investing night at the moment! What the NZ TAB need to do is bring the Power Plays out earlier and give them an option no. a d let punters offload. Just pathetic the way they only allow certain punters to net $30 on TOP 4 and Other account only options!!'!!!!!!!!

“The Race” over a mile at Cambridge is nothing more than a staged event for the corporates Doesnt attract new people into the industry by way of punters owners or trainers! It is just shuffling money from one big boy to another.

Reality is that most do not do a lot! Never see much promotion to get people along to Addington, surely there could be at least some signage around Chch promoting harness and the hospitality there??? Why can’t they get articles on TV 1 or TV3 news with interesting bits as most of the crap they have on since Ardern came in is BS? Why hasnt HRNZ gone into bat for the restricted punters to the TAB as the way it is at the moment is costing them big dollars in lost revenue? Harness racing needs to wake up before there is not a product!

Thanks for that Robalan, hadnt heard of this! Lunacy once again! What happens to the horse when it finishes racing? What a load of bollacks again! What has it got to do with HRNZ?????! Do dog and cat owners need to advise anyone what they have done with their pets? Bunch of Dickheads being paid by the actual workers!!! And yes you are correct stake money has not increased in decades!

Chief, you are correct, the last 2 whip rules are just blatantly stupid! How they were passed by a consensus is hard to understand? Thats right there was no consensus, The new Greyhound CEO brought it in when it was a not agreed upon and then it was amended as it was stuffed up!! The current one is crazy as well and there was nothing wrong with the one that worked for decades! The rule regarding interference and enquiries is also stupid and totally needs changing and there is no fairness in it at all!

Yeah no.s did use to drop off in Winter but with so much more racing nowadays it is probably the best time to be racing your horse unless it is very talented. Once the AllStar horses are back your chances of winning are reduced significantly. I believe that many owners are now saying to hell with racing a horse if it is not viable. If a decent offer comes in they are keen to take it with both hands and this is going to continue. New people have to be introduced to harness racing or it is going to continue to decline. People are not breeding as many horses as there used to be! Not enough new owners are coming in. Older trainers will give it away and it is very difficult for most young ones to be able to make a living out of training! Finally, the NZ TAB have far too many stupid restrictions on punters On harness racing that does not make it attractive enough to continue to introduce and retain the punter!!!!!!! Without the punting dollar on harness things are going to make it financially unviable for harness racing to thrive!!!!

Is Addington starting to struggle for horses to race like Auckland has been?? Friday nights meeting has only 79 nominations for the 10 races which is very low numbers! There is a meeting as well in Canterbury on Sunday but maybe it is starting to show that we have not enough horses in work i. Canterbury now to fill the fields for 2 Meetings a week? I do know from looking at the export lists that there are still heaps going to Ozzie, and most are race winners! Owners are really starting to feel the financial effects of the training costs etc. compared to what they are able to receive in stake money! The stake money on the face of it appears ok but if you factor in the costs of being able to race, then it is a pointless exercise if you think you are able to make it pay! Unfortunately there are several reasons why stake money has not kept up with the costs involved and unless these are rectified then harness racing is going to struggle . Was it last year that we had the BRAINSTORMING meetings between the harness participants but has there really been any improvements in the condition of the industry?

Spellbound is retired Gamma. Broodmare paddock for her unfortunately due to an injury she received when she came back to Cambridge to race in THE MILE! Devastating for the connections but thats racing I suppose, one minute you are up and then the next you are down! Racing can be a roller coaster

Good interview with Craig Edmonds at Oamaru today after the win with Ellantine by Unhinged Nigel asked him what a day in his life involved? Craig stated that he is up and working at the stables at 5 in the morning!!! Seriously, you need to be so dedicated to be wanting to be up in Winter outside at 5.0 am!!! Yes I appreciate it is what they have to do to make a living but they really do deserve every bit of success they get for what they have to put up with. Not all trainers are up at 5am in the morning but geez I do not know how you could keep doing it, week in and week out 7 days a week especially if you aren't getting results? Far far easier ways of making a living I wouldve thought but then we need them or we would not have anything to punt on!